OPINION

Do the same with booze

Re: "Cannabis dreams go up in smoke", (BP, June 27).

Let me assure all those worried about children being exposed to cannabis that their exposure to the more harmful drug alcohol is far greater. This drug is available at every 7 Eleven, places that tend to have an abundance of underage customers, as does every supermarket in the country, many such venues being close to schools and even temples.

Just law requires that like things be treated alike. If cannabis is to be returned to the list of controlled narcotics, the factual criteria for that decision need to be specified, and if alcohol meets those criteria as well, then it too must be added to the list of controlled narcotics. If cannabis is to be available to adults to use only for medical rather than recreational purposes, the same must be done for the drug alcohol.

Equally, if a medical certificate is required for informed adults to buy cannabis, it is hard to see any sound reason why the same should not be required for the sale and use by informed adults of alcohol.

That alcohol has traditionally been legal and cannabis not is irrelevant. Being traditional does not make anything right or just. That is why, for example, same-sex marriage is increasingly recognised by the law as being every bit as required by justice as is mixed-sex marriage.

The long standing traditional discriminations regarding marriage have come to be seen as unjustified in the light of the moral progress humankind has made in recent decades.

Thailand should not jump backwards by re-criminalising cannabis. Such obsolete policy benefited no one, except underground businesses, and perhaps a few obliging officials. The resulting corruption is another longstanding tradition that does not deserve the protection of outmoded law.

Let hospitals control supply

Re: "Rule limits buds to medical use" and "Cannabis dreams go up in smoke", (BP, June 27).

As the debate rages about medical weed, I noticed something which raises an interesting question. I happened to sustain a permanent, incurable injury back in 2003 and as such have been on a narcotic pain killer for 22 years. In Thailand, the only way that I can get them is by going to a hospital, and, yes, these medications are available to any legitimate patient of any age because any human being could require narcotic pain relief after a major accident.

My question is, since cannabis/marijuana is indeed also a narcotic, why haven't the medical professionals looking at these proposed policies done the same with cannabis or marijuana-based medical care and only let hospitals provide the drugs?

The Thai opioid equivalent policy has worked so well that opioid overdoses in Thailand from hospital narcotics are lower than in many developed countries, so doing the same with cannabis-based medication likely would have the same result. Ending recreational use, abuse, and getting the medications into the hands of patients who really need them is the goal, right?

Same treatment for cruelty

Re: "Critique isn't hate", (PostBag, June 27).

The writer of this PostBag piece said he hates all cruel people, so he dislikes Israel.

I share his resentment towards savage people. I remember that almost two years ago, the Palestinian terrorists crossed the border into Israel and killed thousands, including Thais, as well as kidnapping, torturing and rape. Should I hate Palestine?

Identity comes first

Re: "Gender recognition law 'next big step' in Thailand", (BP, June 26).

Thailand's legal system is based upon elements of both common law and civil law as found in Western nations. This evidence-based framework, rooted in principles of reason and empiricism, aims to minimise bias and unverifiable assertions to ensure judicial decisions are grounded in factual reality.

Pride advocates wish to make an exception and formulate law regarding identity based upon what people think about themselves, ie what they "identify with" absent any empirical evidence whatsoever.

The "next big step" in law for Thailand should be the application of it for the rich and poor in equal measure. However, an exception could be made for politicians and bureaucrats who ought to face maximum consequences if they have committed crimes while in office or employed by the government. This would be something Thailand could genuinely be proud of.